UNIT- VI (9 MARKS) SHAH JAHAN
Changes in Mansabdari System.
Problems of Succession
SHAH JAHAN:
Shahab Uddin Muhammad Shah Jahan I (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666) was the ruler of the Mughal Empire in India from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning "king of the world." He was the fifth Mughal ruler after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir. While young, he was a favourite of Akbar.
Even while very young, he could be pointed out to be the successor to the Mughal throne after the death of Jahangir. He succeeded to the throne upon his father's death in 1627. He is considered to be one of the greatest Mughals and his reign has been called the Golden Age of Mughals. Like Akbar, he was eager to expand his empire. The chief events of his reign were the destruction of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar(1636), the loss of Kandahar to the Persians (1653), and a second war against the Deccan princes (1655). In 1658 he fell ill, and was confined by his son Aurangzeb in the citadel of Agra until his death in 1666. On the eve of his death in 1666, the Mughal Empire spanned almost 750,000,000 acres (3,000,000 km2).
The period of his reign was the golden age of Mughal architecture. Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra built as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal (birth name Arjumand Banu Begum). The Pearl Mosque at Agra , The palace and great mosque at Delhi also commemorate him. The celebrated Peacock Throne, said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates, also dates from his reign. He was the founder of Shahjahanabad, now known as 'Old Delhi'. The important buildings of Shah Jahan were theDiwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas in the fort of Delhi, the Jama Masjid, the Moti Masjid and the Taj.
CHANGES IN MANSABDARI SYSTEM:
Mansabdari System lost much of its efficiency under Akbar’s successors, making it necessary to introduce a series of corrective measures. Shahjahan found on his accession that many Mansabdars no longer kept their full contingents, but drew the full Sawar rank pay. He therefore reduced the Zat salaries & the pay of the troopers,& passed the rule of one-third, one-fourth & one-fifth. According to this rule, when a Mansabdar served in a province in which his Jagir was located, he had to maintain a contingent equal to one-third of Sawar rank. If his jagir & posting were in different areas, his contingent had to be one-fourth of his sawar rank. Mansabdars serving in the Balkh-Badakshan campaign were required to meet only one-fifth of their sawar obligations.
Shahjahan also instituted the month scales. This was necessitated by the gap between the official estimate of the income of a jagir (the jama) and the actual amount collected (hasil). For instance , in the last years of shahjhan’s reign, the hasil of the Mughal Deccan was only one-fourth the jama. The reduction in salary was accompanied by a corresponding decrease in sawar obligations. Thus, if a mansabdar was required to maintain thousand troopers but was actually paid for only nine months of the year, his obligations would be scaled down to 750 troopers & 1650 Horses.
The Mansabdari system was the mechanism by which the Mughals sought to administer India more firmly than ever in the past. Mansabdars did not contribute to the formulation of imperial policy, but only helped to ensure its implementation.
PROBLEMS OF SUCCESSION:
The last years of Shahjahan’s reign were clouded by a bitter war of succession among his sons .At this time, Shah Shuja was governor of Bengal, Prince Murad was governor of Gujarat, Aurangzeb was the viceroy of Deccan and Dara held the viceroyalty of north –west India. Jahan Ara Supported Dara while Roshan Ara supported Aurangzeb. Sulaiman Shikoh, Dara’s son aided by Mirza Raja jai singh defeated Shah Shuja near Benaras (February,1656)who had crowned himself . Another army under Raja Jaswant singh faced the combined forces of Aurangzeb and Murad at Dharmat, in which Aurangzeb emerged victorious (April 1658). After this victory, Aurangzeb marched towards Agra and in the ensuing battle at samugarh (29 May,1658)the Mughal forces under Dara were decisively defeated . After the defeat and flight of Dara the fort of Agra was also surrendered by Shahjahan and he was made a prisoner .Living as a captive in shahburj of Agra fort the died in 1666. Aurangzeb treacherously imprisoned Murad, after which he was killed. On july 21, 1658 Aurangzeb crowned himself as emperor in Delhi. Aurangzeb defeted Shah Shuja at Khajwah (Dec 1658) who fled to Arakan. The battle of Deori near Ajmer (March 1659) was the last major battle Dara fought against Aurangzeb. Later, Dara was beheaded in 1658.
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